Ethereum Gambling Sites

Posted on 02/12/2018 05:27

How to Take Advantage of Ethereum Betting Sites

Cryptocurrency betting is gaining pace with the number of casinos and sportsbooks that accept Ethereum growing rapidly. Another reason for the growing popularity of Ethereum sports betting is because it is faster than betting through Bitcoin.

Furthermore, Ethereum betting provides unparalleled advantages when anonymity and security is concerned. The use of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain enables both gamblers and Ethereum casinos to perform online transactions without the need for extensive verification and provision of exclusive rights.

In this article, we will explain how Ethereum and ETH casinos work and how to place wagers using this cryptocurrency.

How Ethereum Betting Works

Currently, the overwhelming majority of Ethereum betting sites are enabling punters to place wagers using Ether as a deposit and withdrawal method. These Ethereum gambling sites act as a traditional online casino but instead of using PayPal, Neteller or Skrill as a payment method they rely on Ether deposits.

The second method to bet with Ethereum is to use an ETH casino. This method is taking advantage of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain for placing wagers. It works in a bit different way as compared to depositing Ether with a bookmaker or a sportsbook. In this, case send ETH to a smart contract and it takes care for paying your winnings.

How Ethereum Casinos Differ from Bitcoin Gambling Sites

Actually, both Ethereum and Bitcoin are secure, fast and anonymous methods to bet online. As many gamblers highly value their privacy and anonymity, these are both very good methods to place bets.

On the other hand, Bitcoin casinos are around for a longer period as well as Bitcoin itself. Bitcoin is also considered the most stable of the many cryptocurrencies.

All in all, both an Ethereum bookmaker does not differ much from their Bitcoin counterpart. The only difference from a gambler’s point of view is that Ether is a little bit more volatile.

Advantages of Ethereum Sportsbooks

A major advantage of a casino that use Ethereum or an Ethereum bookmaker is that you get faster banking method. The average transaction is completing in a minute or so while you may need to wait for hours to complete a Bitcoin transaction.

Another benefit is that most of the Ethereum sportsbooks and casinos accept players from all over the world and no countries are restricted. USA gamblers are also able to play.

As we said above, you can use smart contracts instead of depositing Ether directly at the casino. This removes the need for trust between a casino that accepts Ethereum and the gambler. In this way, the bookmaker or the casino does not hold your funds and you eliminate the risk of not being paid.

Ethereum gambling sites will very rare check your identity and bother you with verification process.

Smart contracts are open source code and interfering with the smart contract code is in practice impossible. So, you take advantage of instant payouts regardless of the amount you have won.

Disadvantages of Ethereum Sports Betting

One of the very few disadvantages of Ethereum bookmakers is that your wagers are not processed immediately. The way the blockchain works requires some time for the system to decide whether a bet wins or losses. It might take some 15 seconds for a small wager but larger bets might need a few minutes before the confirmation arrives.

You should also bear in mind that most of the cryptocurrency casinos are new; hence, you should check if the casino is trustworthy. This is specifically valid if you deposit Ether directly to the casino’s wallet.

Unique Games on the Ethereum Network

In addition to smart contracts, the Ethereum blockchain allows developers to build unique games along with traditional games such as Ethereum blackjack.

This allows the emergence of pure Ethereum casinos offering various games through smart contracts but accepting deposits in Ether.

How to Select the Best Ethereum Casino

There are a few major factors to consider when deciding which is the best Ethereum casino.

First of all, you may decide to look for promotions and sign up bonuses that the operator provides. You should know that Ethereum casinos and sportsbooks offer markedly less number of bonuses as compared to traditional bookmakers. Nonetheless, you can find operators that offer a matched deposit bonus or free gameplay credits.

The number of games on offer by the casino is also important since dice and slot games are very different things. There are online casinos that offer only one or two types of games. Fortunately, other Ethereum casinos allow gamblers to play a variety of games such as Ethereum blackjack, online poker or roulette.

If you want to play directly against other players, you should look for a casino that offers Ethereum gambling through smart contracts. When you use Decentralized applications (Dapps), the casino effectively has no access to your funds and you get your payments instantly.

Last but not least, you should check if the Ethereum casino is using a provably fair protocol to secure random outcomes of each game. This protocol generates cryptographically secure random number and the algorithm behind the protocol can be audited on the public blockchain.

How to Deposit at Ethereum Gambling Sites

When you are depositing funds at a casino that uses Ethereum you need to purchase Ether from an online cryptocurrency exchange. Then, you transfer the funds from your wallet at the exchange to your wallet at the casino.

An important thing to remember is that you can accidentally send funds to a Bitcoin wallet instead to an Ethereum one. Just check if the wallet address starts with “0x”, as these are the first two characters of any Ethereum wallet.

Perform this check all the time because transferring Ether to a Bitcoin wallet may result in losing your funds. The same applies to the very Ethereum address since by sending funds to a wrong address you lose them.

Conclusion

Ethereum betting sites provide many advantages compared to traditional bookmakers while having only a few disadvantages.

You have instant withdrawals with Ethereum while keeping your anonymity. The Ethereum blockchain network is secure and safe; the only think you should have in mind that all cryptocurrencies are prone to volatility.

Furthermore, a smart contract on the Ethereum network is actually a contract where nobody can alter the original source code. The use of a provably fair protocol provides further layer of protection for the gambler by providing a transparent algorithm to randomize the outcome of each gameplay.

The Ethereum gambling industry is evolving very fast while smart contracts take betting to a completely new level by offering Ethereum-specific games and unprecedented level of security.